


Significance

by pawn_vs_player



Series: Braids Verse [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel Mating, Castiel is also a bit of a little shit, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Dean is a Little Shit, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gabriel Has Issues, Gabriel braids Sam's hair, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mating Rituals, References to Norse Religion & Lore, Sam is a Sweetheart, Trickster Gabriel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-16
Updated: 2016-02-16
Packaged: 2018-05-21 02:17:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6034288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pawn_vs_player/pseuds/pawn_vs_player
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam's POV of Braids... plus bonus material, featuring Destiel and Dean being a little shit of a big brother. :D</p>
            </blockquote>





	Significance

The first few times Gabriel makes jokes about braiding his hair, Sam is confused. He understands when Dean does it- his brother’s always been annoyed and amused by his long hair in turns- and even when Cas participates, Sam gets it- the angel’s always followed Dean’s example (or tried to) when it comes to human things. Sam gets that.

But Gabriel… Gabriel is different. Gabriel is Loki, and Loki is Norse, and Sam’s done the research. Braids, in Loki’s time, meant things, different things depending on the circumstances and the person doing the braiding. A family member braiding your hair was a very different thing from a lover or friend doing it, and beyond that, the way the braids were done had significance as well. And Gabriel _has_ to know that. Has to know that Dean making an off-handed quip about getting clippers or Sam making a good Princess Leia, or Cas innocently following in Dean’s steps and wondering aloud how long Sam’s hair needed to get before it could actually be manipulated into Leia buns, are entirely different from _Gabriel_ , Sam’s _boyfriend_ and _Norse god_ , mentioning braiding Sam’s hair on multiple occasions with varying degrees of seriousness. (The time when Gabriel had managed to get hit with a witch’s spell that essentially made him drunk off his ass was particularly memorable; he’d stared at Sam almost the whole time, and right before he passed out, he’d run his fingers carefully through Sam’s hair and murmured something about ‘claim patterns’. Sam knows Gabriel thinks Sam doesn’t know what that means, but he does.)

And honestly, Sam _wants_ that. Wants to be claimed by both the archangel Gabriel and the pagan trickster god Loki, with Norse customs and angelic Grace.

But, as much as Gabriel jokes, he isn’t ready. He isn’t ready for that step yet, and Sam knows it even if Gabriel himself doesn’t. So Sam waits and brushes off the jokes, because for now, that’s all they are.

Until they aren’t. Until the day Gabriel’s eyes are just a little less playful, his voice a little less glib, and Sam is utterly grateful Dean and Cas are out.

“Do you want to?” Sam asks, watching Gabriel’s eyes widen.

“What?”

“Do you want to do that to my hair?” Sam’s voice is calm; he needs to be careful, gentle, about pushing this. Gabriel reminds him, sometimes, of a skittish horse; make one quick, wrong move, and he’ll flee. (Considering his son, though, Sam’s analogy is probably more accurate than he’d meant it to be.)

Sam watches Gabriel think, and lick his lips when he reaches a conclusion. “Uh… yeah, actually, I- yeah, I want to.”

Sam lets himself smile, then, and scoots back on the couch.

Gabriel’s hands are warm on his neck and scalp, fingers deft and graceful. Sam closes his eyes and loses himself in the gentle tugs and twists, paying attention to the finished styles once Gabriel smooths them flat against his neck. They only encourage him; styles for love, devotion, trust, are woven into his hair and pressed against the back of his neck. They feel heavier than they are, weighted with the significance of the gesture, and Sam’s smile only grows.

It disappears when he surfaces from his thoughts and realize that Gabriel’s been redoing the same braid for far too long. “Gabriel? You okay?”

He should have thought of this. Of course he’s not the first one Gabriel _(Loki)_ has done this with, of course he has associations. Sam’s read the mythology for heaven’s sake (even though Heaven hardly deserves it) and he _knows_  what kinds of things Gabriel might be thinking of, he shouldn’t have done this-

Gabriel’s fingers are trembling as they tie off the braid and drag down the plaited strand. “’M fine, Sam. Just… one more thing…”

Sam hesitates, fears running rampant, before shoving them away- _He’s okay, you both wanted to do this, you are allowed to want him to do this_ \- and relaxing back into Gabriel’s chest.

He blinks when Gabriel undoes the lower half of one braid, only to rebraid it back slightly differently a few moments later. _Did he get something wrong? Did he change his mind about the pattern or something?_

Something cool and smooth brushes his scalp. Sam’s eyebrows raise. “Gabriel? What did…” 

Sam’s fingers go to it, and he stops breathing for a second when he finds what feels like, like-

A feather. An intricate, smooth, probably-made-of-amber feather. 

He stops breathing again for a second. This… this is everything he’d hoped for, and now… now it just feels like a dream.

“You put your feather in my hair?” he asks, turning around to look Gabriel in the eyes. He can’t even try to hide his awe.

Gabriel nods, hands fidgeting in his lap. “I, um, if you don’t like it I can take it out-”

 _Well, that just won’t do,_ Sam decides, and pulls his archangel boyfriend bodily into his lap. ((Well, maybe more than a boyfriend, what with what they’ve just done- but he can’t think about that yet.)) He buries his face in Gabriel’s soft hair and whispers, “I love it.” He feels Gabriel start to smile against his neck as he adds, “Thank you.”

Sam can’t say anything more, emotions swelling thick in his throat. Instead, he resorts to a proven method of making Gabriel happy: showering kisses all over his face and head. It makes him all soft and pliant and warm, like melting chocolate, and Sam _loves_  it when Gabriel just ends up draped over Sam, purring quietly in the back of his throat as Sam’s mouth gets a thorough (and safe for company) workout. Gabriel ‘mmmms’ happily against Sam’s throat and shifts to spread out more across Sam. Sam leans back and stretches out on the couch, mouth pressed against Gabriel’s hairline and hands rubbing idly at the base of his neck, and they stay there, Sam very aware of the feather slowly warming with Sam’s body heat.

Dean and Cas come home at some point during the marathon cuddle. As soon as Dean sees the braids, he opens his mouth to tease; but Cas sees the feather, and does his eyesex-telepathy thing with Dean to convince him to leave Sam and Gabriel alone. Dean shuts his mouth and he and Cas move on, Cas shooting a quick smile at Sam over his shoulder as they go.

Dean keeps looking at the feather during dinner. Cas does too, but his attention is clearly different from Dean’s; where Dean’s eyes are curious and a little suspicious, Cas’ are understanding and supportive, even welcoming. It’s clear to Sam that Cas knows the significance of the braids and feather alike, and that he is happy with Sam and Gabriel’s union.

_((and shit, if Sam’s going to think about it like that, he really needs to get a ring.))_

Gabriel insists that the braids come out before Sam goes to sleep, claiming discomfort and tangling. Sam acquiesces for the most part, since Gabriel can just redo the braids whenever he likes, but insists on keeping the one with the feather. Now that he finally has the claim, there’s no way he’s letting Gabriel take it back.

Gabriel catches his eyes for about a second and caves. Sam grins.

They sleep with Gabriel curled up against Sam’s chest, head pressed against his heart, and with Sam’s arms curled tightly around Gabriel’s waist.

He wakes up to Gabriel staring at his feather in Sam’s hair, eyes the same molten honey-gold as the amber bound into Sam’s braid, and Sam kisses him because how the hell can he not?

* * *

They don’t really talk about it, because they don’t really need to. There’s a moment when Gabriel stumbles over the word “boyfriend” in front of a victim, and Sam smiles and takes Gabriel’s hand and says “Fiancee, it’s still new for him,” and that’s it.

Sam does buy a ring, though. It’s a silver band, set with citrine, and Gabriel loves it. Sam doesn’t need a ring; as long as the feather and braid stay, he’s set.

They do need to talk about it with other people, though, which is where the problems are. Cas knows, of course; he’s known since he walked in and saw the feather in Sam’s hair.

Dean, on the other hand…

Dean is… surprised, let’s go with surprised, the first time he sees the ring on Gabriel’s hand.

“Sam,” he says, “did you forget to tell me something?”

Sam and Gabriel freeze. Cas, standing in the doorway, slowly starts to smirk.

“Um.” Sam rubs the back of his neck. “We, uh… we’ve been trying to figure out how to say it…”

Dean shuts his eyes and takes a long, slow breath. Sam almost starts to panic, but then he glances at Cas- at the small, wry grin still on the angel’s face- and forces his fear down. If Cas is amused by it, it can’t be too bad, right?

Dean swallows, and Sam’s eyes snap back to his brother. “Um… Dean…?”

Dean’s eyes open, and with inhuman speed, he’s across the room and squeezing the air out of Sam with a massive grin on his face. Sam wheezes, wrapping his arms around his brother. “Dean,” he manages. “Can’t- Breathe-”

Dean steps back, wiping his eye. “My little baby Sammy’s all grown up,” he sniffs dramatically, but Sam knows he means every word. He smiles at Dean.

“Hey, at least I did it before you did,” he teases. Dean stiffens up, cheeks flushing. His glance at Cas is nowhere near subtle.

Gabriel grins, suddenly at Sam’s side. “Well, now that Deano knows, can he help with the wedding plans?”

Sam goes very still. Dean’s eyes rise to Gabriel’s, and a wicked grin spreads over his face. Gabriel gulps, fingers slipping in between Sam’s.

“Of course,” Dean says silkily. Sam squeaks.

Cas is still giving them a shit-eating smirk from the doorway. “Run while you have the chance, brother,” he says wryly, and Gabriel snaps his fingers.

**Author's Note:**

> Comment if you liked it, please!


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